


in the heat of the moment

by diegosknives (eds_spagheds)



Category: The Umbrella Academy (TV)
Genre: Angst with a Happy Ending, Diego Hargreeves Needs A Hug, Drowning, Gen, Good Brother Diego Hargreeves, Kinda, Pre-Canon, Protective Diego Hargreeves, au where luther actually cares about his family, luther isn't a total dick, no beta lmao we die like men
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-03-18
Updated: 2019-03-18
Packaged: 2019-11-24 00:55:07
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,148
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18159308
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/eds_spagheds/pseuds/diegosknives
Summary: there's no fun, innocent way for a thirteen-year-old kid to find out he can't drown. there just isn't.





	in the heat of the moment

**Author's Note:**

> this was supposed to be a quick little one-shot, but now it's a 4k angst monster so enjoy. also, I didn't realize I never added this, but for anyone who's unaware, diego's power in the comics is that he can hold his breath indefinitely. he had an affinity for throwing knives, but they made that his actual power instead in the tv show
> 
> tw:  
> (near) drowning  
> mentions of blood  
> mentions of near death  
> car accidents

It was a simple mission, really. A department store hold-up with a few employees being held hostage. Nothing they couldn’t handle. They were in and out with the whole situation taken care of in under an hour. Pretty good for a bunch of middle schoolers, one might say. 

So, like every mission, the six of them piled into the backseats of two of Sir Reginald’s town cars and drove across town to get back to the academy. Usually, they stayed fairly close to home when it came to missions. They never traveled much further than an hour or so away, but it was always the kid’s favorite when they got to go across the bridge on the edge of town. None of them had ever been able to go visit the beach, let alone go to a community pool or anything, but they all leaned up against the windows to stare at the sun shining against the water. 

The cars were divided by number; Luther, Diego, and Allison in one car, Klaus, Five, and Ben in the other. Diego sat in the middle, not on his own volition, but at least he could see out the window on both sides. Allison was asleep, her head against his shoulder, which he didn’t really mind except for the fact that her hair was tickling his neck and he was tempted to wake her up so she could tie it up. Luther didn’t seem to acknowledge him and instead kept massaging his bicep. He had pulled a muscle in training a few days prior and, like always, their father hadn’t allowed him to take any time off from training and missions for it to heal. 

Just behind the first car, Klaus sat with his head propped up in his hand, the only one not mesmerized by the ocean view as he intently watched the clouds so that he wouldn’t have to see the ghosts of every car crash and suicide victim along the side of the bridge. His leg bounced incessantly and neither of the other two boys in the car could tell if it was from him anxiously looking away from the bodies along the road or if he just needed another drug fix. Five was fast asleep, his head against Ben’s shoulder much like Allison and Diego. Using his power exhausted him much more than any of his siblings. Ben had a book in his lap, Grace having held onto it for him while she waited in the car during the mission just in case there was an emergency, and he didn’t seem to mind his brother using him as a pillow. 

There wasn’t much traffic across the bridge, but it was fairly long, probably at least fifteen minutes across. 

Fifteen minutes and they happened to be there right at the worst possible moment.

Diego was picking at a hole he had earned in his blazer sleeve when he heard the sound of crunching metal. Screams rang out from all around them as Allison jolted awake and all three siblings turned to look out the rear window of the car. 

Just in time to watch a pickup truck crossing three lanes, knocking at least six other cars into each other, and plowing right into the side of the sleek black town car that held their three brothers and their mom. A horrified sob left Allison’s lips as she watched and in seconds, the car screeched to a halt. Luther simply ripped off his seatbelt rather than unbuckling it and barreled out of the car, Diego and Allison hot on heels. 

There was so much commotion. Car alarms ringing, people screaming, tires squealing, but all that the three of them could see was the car easily breaking through the barrier at the edge of the bridge and teetering over the edge. 

Luther rushes over, grabbing the front end of the car and using all of his strength to try to stop it from going over. Diego pulled out two knives, slashing all four of the out-of-control truck’s tires. Allison was tugging on the door handles, trying to get her family out of the car, but the side had been bashed in so badly none of them could pry it open. Luther was struggling, that much was obvious. An entire car with multiple passengers wasn’t like anything he’d ever been trained to hold, but he definitely wasn’t giving up on it when his family was at stake. Diego joined at his side, not as strong, but at that point Luther was willing to take all the help he could get. 

Everything was happening too fast. The back end of the car was teetering in its last tire, barely still on the bridge and Diego just kept staring at his mom and his siblings through the window. Grace was calm as always, instead trying to soothe her sons and likely not understanding what was happening. And Five. Five was in tears. He kept clenching his fists and shutting his eyes and trying so, so hard to teleport out of there, but his powers were shot. He’d been jumping all over the place during the mission and no matter how hard he tried, he just couldn’t get it to work. Diego couldn’t see Klaus and Ben’s faves from where he stood, but he was partially grateful. He wasn’t sure he’d want to see how his two closest little brothers were taking it.

Luther’s face was red hot with anguish as Diego noticed the blood dripping onto the pavement by his feet. Yeah, he and Luther barely got along in the slightest, but rivalry be damned if they needed to save their family.

There was a sound. A sound the three siblings would never forget. The axel of the last remaining tire on the bridge snapped flat and the car slipped from all of their fingers. Diego felt his heart stop as he watched the car drop into the water below. Luther was in tears, blood smearing up and down his hands and knees as he kneeled over the edge of the bridge. Allison immediately ran around to every person who had stopped to watch the scene and begged for someone to call an ambulance, to call for a fire truck, to call  _ someone _ to save her family. 

And Diego? Diego stares for no more than ten seconds before taking the biggest breath he can and swan diving right off the edge. 

As he falls he can hear his other two siblings calling after him, but in that split second, he doesn’t care. He knows no ambulance or fire brigade or coast guard could get there in time. He wasn’t going to let his family die on his watch if it was the last thing he did. 

The water wasn’t as cold as he feared when he finally plunged beneath the surface. Or maybe it was freezing and he was just so pumped full of adrenaline that he didn’t notice. Either way, he could faintly see the glow of the car’s flickering headlights as he swam deeper and deeper. Once he could finally feel the cold metal beneath his fingers he grabbed a knife from his belt and slammed the hilt over and over into the nearest window until it shattered. He could barely see through all the salt water at the dark depth of the channel, but someone grabbed his wrists and he immediately pulled his unidentifiable brother out through the window. Just as quickly as the first, he felt another two pairs or hands grabbing weakly at his arms and he quickly made sure he had all three holding on to his coat or his torso somewhere before pushing off the roof of the car as hard as he could and swimming towards the surface like a madman. 

His eyes were burning, he could feel the additional weight building as he stayed underwater longer and longer as his brothers likely fell unconscious and stopped kicking with him. Why he was still going without much chest pain at all was a miracle but he wasn’t about to stop and try to figure it out. Once he could faintly see the outline of the shore, he swam as hard as he could and dragged his three brothers out of the water, desperately needing the paramedics that had arrived on the bridge to come down to the shore. 

He left the three at the water’s edge waving his arms around a little until he was sure Luther and Allison noticed where he was and could direct the EMTs to help the others. With that, he ran off and dove back under. Robot or not, he wasn’t leaving his mom behind.

The second time around it was harder. He could hardly see at all deeper than fifteen feet or so, seeing as the car’s headlights had long-since died out. Still, he made his way to the bottom and simply kept swimming forwards until he could see a dark, black, bubbling mass that could only be the crashed car. 

The driver’s seat was easy to find once he got to the car and it was unsurprisingly easier to pry open than the other as it was on the opposite side of the truck’s impact and was only impacted by the railing of the bridge. He let his knife float down to the ocean floor once he knew the door was open and immediately wrapped an arm around his mom’s torso, using his legs to push off against the car door as he tugged as hard as he could.

He was almost sure she would need to be repaired extensively when they returned to the academy. His father had no reason to prepare for her to be submerged in so much water for so long and Diego knew there was a high chance his efforts would be completely useless in the eyes of his father, but he loved his mother more than anything in the world. Circuitry failure be damned, he was getting her out of there no matter what. 

Being that she was a machine, Grace was significantly harder to carry than even all three of his brothers at once. Sure, she wasn’t helping to kick through the water at all and she was much larger, and, well, made of metal, but for a thirteen-year-old boy that decidedly did  _ not _ have super strength, he had quite a difficult time. 

By the time he reached the surface again, he had no idea how long it had been since he went under. To be honest, it had felt like no more than a few minutes, but the looks of Luther and Allison’s faces when they spotted his dragging their mother out of the water looked like they had seen a ghost. 

If this hadn’t been the most terrifying moment of all of their lives, he might’ve made a joke about Klaus not being the only necromancer anymore, but he couldn’t seem to form the words. Instead, he hobbled on exhausted legs out of the water, his brother and sister rushing to his side as Luther picked up Grace’s body and Allison helped Diego out of the water to a nearby EMT with a towel waiting for him. 

“Thanks,” he mumbled shakily to his sister as he wrapped himself up in the towel, shivering from the slight wind. Allison didn’t say a thing and instead threw her arms around him, squeezing tighter than he’d ever felt. He could feel her tears mixing with the salt water and he slowly rocked back and forth the way their mom did with him when he was upset. 

“We thought we lost you too,” she whispered into Diego’s ear when she had composed herself long enough to speak. “It was like we lost mom and all three of our little brothers, only for you to follow right behind them.”

Diego curled his shivering hand around her back and gently played with her hair. It seemed like just minutes ago she was asleep peacefully on his shoulder and now she was sobbing her eyes out. 

“I can’t even imagine what that would be like,” she whimpered, pressing her face into his neck. “Having to go home and tell Vanya that...that no one else made it home.”

“Thank you, Diego,” she spoke softly. “I literally can’t express how much I love you. You  _ saved _ our family, Dee. Thank you so much.”

He pulled back from their hug, even if only to give her a teary-eyed smile. 

“They’re okay,” a voice from beside them spoke up. Diego looked up and met Luther’s eyes, noticing immediately how differently he carried himself. “They’re taking them back to the infirmary in the ambulance.”

“Do you know if we can ride with them?” Allison asked, eager to see for herself that her brothers were okay. Still, all of them knew that even if they weren’t  _ technically _ supposed to, she’d rumor her way in anyway.

Luther shrugged. “Probably. There’s two. I think they’ve got mom and Five in one and Ben and Klaus in the other.” Allison nodded and eagerly ran up the hill to the street where the ambulances were. 

Once she was gone, Luther sat himself down beside Diego on the sand. Diego glanced over at him, noticing the extensive amount of bandages around his hands and one arm in a makeshift sling. 

“You okay?” Diego asked, knowing the answer. 

“No.” Luther didn’t stop staring out at the water. “Nothing hurts that bad. My hands and arms were pretty cut up and apparently, I dislocated my shoulder, but it doesn’t really matter.”

Diego could see his brother’s bandages hand picking at the gauze idly as his misty eyes watched the water. Neither of them said anything for a very long time. Luther has no idea what to think. Diego was thinking a million things a minute and just couldn’t pick what to say. 

“I give you so much shit for being Number 2,” Luther spoke, almost as if he were just thinking out loud and talking to himself. “I talk about being a leader like it’s my only purpose, but you’ve always deserved to be Number 1, Diego.”

He didn’t know what he was expecting Luther to say, but it definitely was not that. 

“Luther-“

“Don’t. I’m done fighting with you, okay? God, I owe you everything, dude. I...I couldn’t hold it. I wasn’t strong enough, but you...you did the impossible.”

“I’m pretty sure everything about our lives counts as doing the impossible,” Diego interrupted and earned a weak chuckle for it.

“I’m serious, Diego. I...I have so much to learn from you. I know I’m kind of an ass sometimes and I let dad control me way too much, but I thought that was the best way to be a leader,” he sighed. “I’m shit at talking about this, but this team needs someone like you as their leader, man.”

And with that he stood, turned his back to the waves, and held out his hand. Diego allowed himself to be helped off the ground, but he definitely wasn’t ready for such a bone-crushing hug from Luther. If he was being honest, he was pretty sure he’d never been hugged by his brother once in their entire lives. It was nice, a bit constricting, but secure. 

“Let’s go get our brothers, yeah?” Diego suggested, and the taller boy nodded, leading his brother up the hill hand in hand. Also new.

As it turned out, Allison had hopped in the ambulance with Five and Grace, leaving Diego and Luther to hop in with Klaus and Ben. It didn’t take much convincing at all for them to get two spots in the back.

Neither Klaus nor Ben stirred even for a second during the whole drive which, if he hadn’t been able to see the heart monitors beside both of them, would’ve terrified him. So, instead of the heartfelt breakdowns he’d had with Allison and Luther, he sat with his knees banging up against the railing of Klaus’ makeshift gurney, running his fingers through his little brother's hair as they drove, skipping each individual curl through his fingers. One of the paramedics offered to redress Luther’s bandages on the way back, but the blond hadn’t said a word. He just stared across the ambulance and watched his brothers’ chests rise and fall rhythmically.

When they finally arrived at the mansion, Diego, Luther, and Allison waited anxiously outside the infirmary doors, their backs against the mahogany wood. It took no more than five minutes before Diego was out cold. He shivered incessantly in his sleep, tugging the blanket he’d picked up off the sofa tighter around himself. Luther wouldn’t stop pacing around the room. Allison stayed at Diego’s side, ready to wake him up if anything happened. As it turned out, they couldn’t stay away very much longer. 

It was sunset when Pogo gently woke the three sleeping siblings to share the good news.

After quite a few tests to make sure no one was harmed too badly, Pogo asked to check Diego too. He claimed he was fine and just needed some rest, which was immediately met with opposition. Pogo hesitated, but ultimately gave in to the boy’s request on the one condition that he, his sister, and brother all go on to bed. 

And they did. Only after they made Pogo promise to wake them up when the others were awake. 

It felt so strange walking down a hallway of empty bedrooms. Well, all empty but Vanya’s. Nobody wanted to be the one to break the news to her, but Allison reluctantly offered so the boys could get some rest. 

Diego really didn’t want to sleep. He wanted to get into the infirmary to see that his brothers were okay for himself. He wanted to make sure there was a way to fix his mom. 

Still, he was out like a light the moment his head hit the pillow. He just hoped it wasn’t too long before Pogo came to tell him the boys were awake. 

As it turned out, it wasn’t Pogo that told him that, but rather a quiet knocking on his bedroom door in the middle of the night. He grabbed a blanket from his bed and wrapped it around his shoulders as he climbed out towards the door. He desperately hoped it was Pogo and not his father. 

He gingerly opened the door and was met with arms around his torso before he could even see who was there. 

Klaus. 

Yeah he definitely preferred this third option. 

He dropped the blanket and immediately wrapped his arms around his little brother. He didn’t want to cry. He  _ didn’t _ . H _ e  _ didn’t want to think about how he was almost too late. He didn’t want to think about what might’ve happened if he hadn’t gone after them. He didn’t  _ want _ to, but he  _ did _ . He did and then he couldn’t stop, and then he was sobbing and shaking and holding onto Klaus like if he let go he’d lose him again. 

“You’re o-o-okay,” he sighed, burying his face into the crook of Klaus’s neck. “You’re okay, you’re okay.” It was more so to confirm that his brother was still alive than to comfort the other, but it worked all the same. 

“I’m okay,” Klaus repeated, feeling Diego shutter against him before pulling away. 

“T-the others, they’re...they’re okay t-t-too, right?” Klaus smiles and Diego felt a little bit better already. 

“They’re okay, Dee,” he beamed, crossing the room to sit cross-legged on Diego’s bed. “Thanks to you.”

Diego joined him, wrapping himself back up in the discarded blanket. 

“Did Pogo tell you what happened?” 

Diego stared at him. “Dude, I was there.”

“Yeah no shit.” Klaus rolled his eyes. “Diego you were underwater for almost  _ ten minutes _ and you’re  _ still alive.” _

Oh shit. 

“And he said...he said you went back down for mom too,” his tone shifted. “For  _ fifteen _ minutes, Dee. _ ”  _ Diego glanced over at Klaus, now shaking and rocking back and forth. He grabbed one of his hands. “When I woke up the first time, I asked Pogo what happened and he said I was underwater for almost ten minutes. He...he said you saved us all.” Tears started rolling down his cheeks and Diego slid an arm around his torso, pulling his little brother close to lean against his shoulder. “I couldn’t ask him if...if you were okay. I thought- _ we all thought _ we lost you.”

“Klaus, I-“

“Five said there was no way you’d...you’d  _ survive _ that. He just didn’t want us to get our hope up but...but I didn’t want to believe it,” he shuddered, squeezing Diego’s hand incredibly tightly. “I knew, I just  _ knew _ if something had happened to you, I’d still be able to see you. But I couldn’t and I thought maybe, just  _ maybe _ -“

“I had some sort of power,” Diego finished for him, knowing where his brother was going with his train of thought. Klaus nodded, biting his lip. “No, n-no, that can’t be possible. I-I have my knives and  _ that’s _ my power, not...not this.”

Klaus smiled sympathetically. 

“I won’t bring it up if you want to try to keep it from ‘ole daddy dearest,” he offered, knowing firsthand how awful their father could be when his kids found a new power he could investigate. If Diego could hold his breath for long periods of time like that, he didn’t want to think about what Diego would have to do for training. “I’m sure the others would do the same.”

“T-t-thanks,” he smiled, yawning loudly. Klaus chuckled. 

“Hey, um, can I stay with you tonight?” Klaus asked nervously. Klaus would stay in Ben’s room more often than his own, but never Diego’s. “I just...I don’t really want to be by myself.”

Diego maneuvered himself to slide under the covers and he held up one side of the comforter. 

“If you didn’t ask to stay, I was gonna’ ask you not to go,” he grinned, laughing lightly as Klaus eagerly crawled up beside him. 

“Thanks little bro,” Diego mumbled quietly, their bodies apart but hands together. 

Klaus snorted. “We’re the same age, you know.”

“Yeah but you’re still my little brother.”

“Can’t argue with that logic, I guess.”

* * *

It took three weeks of waiting through extra chores and microwaved meals before the kids headed into the basement for breakfast one day and found their mother at the stove humming to herself. All seven kids froze in their tracks.

“M-mom?” Diego’s voice cracked as his eyes welled up with tears. She turned around at his words, a spatula in her hand and a smile on her face. Just like she was before.

“Good morning, darlings,” she smiled. “How does everyone feel about pancakes? I have fresh blueberries,” she announced happily, everyone too shocked to respond.

“ _ Mom _ ,” Diego repeated, as if in disbelief. He practically ran towards her, throwing his arms around her waist and burying his face into the front of her dress. She quickly set down the spatula and held him back. “I missed you so m-m-much.”

Grace knelt down to be more level with her son.

“I missed you too, sweetheart,” she beamed. “Pogo tells me you were my own little hero, is that right?”

Diego stuttered, a harsh blush taking over his entire face.

“Yeah,” came a response from Klaus as he stuffed a pancake from the stack by the stove into his mouth. “He saved all four of us.” Although it barely sounded like English through his mouthful of food.

“Klaus, sweetie, don’t speak with your mouth full. We wouldn’t want you to choke,” she chided.

“Speak for yourself,” Ben mumbled under his breath, a teasing smile as he looked up from his book. 

Grace turned back to Diego, a soft smile on her face.

“Well, I believe a thank you is in order,” she spoke, ruffling his hair. “How about I make your favorite for dinner tonight?” Diego grinned and she seemed satisfied with her offer. 

“I-I’m just g-glad you’re b-b-back, mom,” he blushed. 

“I’m not going anywhere, darling,” she cooed. “Not as long as you’re looking after me.”

He hugged her again, much more tightly than before. Diego loved his mother so much, robot or not. He knew she could feel things. He’d seen it for himself. 

Diego composed himself, allowing for his siblings to hug their mom as he took his usual seat at the table. Within a few moments, Klaus sat down beside him, instinctively linking his pinkie finger to Diego’s under the table.

“She’s right, you know,” he whispered once everyone was too preoccupied with their food to notice. Diego looked up from his lap to look at his brother’s face. “You’re a hero.”

Diego felt his face blush scarlet. 

“Or at least mine.”  
  


**Author's Note:**

> thank you so much for reading! this is my first time posting something for this fandom that i've written, but i'm happy to take any requests if people like it!! :)


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